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Author
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Comment
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snowflakebebe
Registered User
(8/1/04 7:26 pm)
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Modern roots of fairytales. Travel
I am not sure how to word this properly so please forgive me if I just don't make sense.
I am going to visit the Dartmoor area next year and its mainly because I want to see the woods and roads that inspired the Frouds and Alan Lee.
Don't worry I am not some weirdo- I won't try to knock on doors of anyone's home I just have this opportunity to see this area and walk it and see it, and to me its the actual root of the stories I love- so even though these geographical places are ancient, the roots of these stories are "modern" and the people who created them still alive and well.
Thats great to me because so many times a world of inspiration is no longer reachable. To me they are the roots and of course they are linked to the past- but when in your opinions, will roots of fairytales shift to include these modern living people? I am not being mean or anything, like I said I don't know how to actually word this very well, but in some of my wandering for the roots of fairytales people do not mention living or recent authors and their homes and areas. Or maybe I have not found a website on it yet.
There seems to be a legitimacy to age, which is deserved, but more
on modern writers, to me would be appreciated. When I was young,
everything seemed so shrouded in mystery I assumed everyone who
wrote what I read or saw was already dead! Thankfully as I grew
up I relaized it wasn't true. What is a timeline to becoming considered
an actual root- how long does a modern fairytale take to become
a "real one" added to the amazing body of works?
So now to have the oppourtunity to see the Dartmoor area is wonderful to me personally. My real life is filled with "work" stuff and doll stuff which is nice but to go away, completely away, is amazing.
I just wish all roots were melded somehow to include the modern and ancient so it doesn't all seem so far away and lost in time when you go looking for them.
(If anyone can suggest good advice and travel sites on that area please let me know- or any personal travel advice for the Dartmoor area would be appreciated.
My website of art: just so you know I am a real human. I just want
to travel when I can and see the most amazing things when I can
go so you can tell me places and I will not ruin anything, leave
trash or graffitti, I will respect any place you recommend, and
keep it secret if you ask me to
cmerry.diaryland.com/
)
Christian
Edit by Heidi to remove name of specific village
Edited by: Heidi Anne Heiner at: 8/2/04 9:34 pm
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Terri
Windling
Registered User
(8/2/04 9:02 am)
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Re: roots of fairy tales
Christian, you write: "when in your opinions, will roots of fairytales shift to include these modern living people?"
I think it already does. The interesting thing about the fairy tale tradition is that it's not just an oral tradition, it's a mix of the oral *and* literary (and artistic) tradition. Familiar stories such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and The Princess and the Pea were inspired by oral folklore, but the stories as we know them were penned by specific 17th, 18th, and 19th authors such as Charles Perrault, Madame D'Aulnoy, Mme. Leprince de Beaumont, Hans Christian Andersen, and others who were the "modern living people" of their day. And they, in turn, had been inspired by previous writers such as Apuleius, Straparola, and Basile.
So 20th/21st century writers who are inspired by fairy tales (Angela Carter, Jane Yolen, Tanith Lee, Delia Sherman, Donna Jo Napoli, Neil Gaiman, Emma Donoghue, Gregory Frost, Robert Coover, Susanna Clarke, etc.) aren't separate from the "roots" of the fairy tale tradition -- they are part of it, carrying it on into the future. And perhaps in the 22nd century, writers will find inspiration in re-working the stories of Carter, Yolen, and Lee.
You say that you would like to see more discussion of living writers
and artists. You could start a discussion here of the modern works
you find particularly resonant. You could check out the Mythopoeic
Society (www.mythsoc.org),
which honors modern writers (and scholars) following in the footsteps
of Lewis and Tolkien. You could check out the Endicott Studio web
site (www.endicott-studio.com),
where you'll find articles on artists like Froud and Lee in the
Gallery section. You'll also find articles on fairy tales that start
with a discussion of the history of the tales and usually end with
recommendations of modern works inspired by them. (In the Reading
Room section.)
Regarding your trip to Dartmoor, I recommend getting a map of the local walking trails from any local tourist office (most villages have one), as well as a good hiking map of Dartmoor itself, showing where the various tors, stone circles, and such are. Take a sturdy pair of hiking boots and a raincoat, be prepared to be outdoors a lot, and you'll get a good taste of the area.
I appreciate the fact that you say up front that you don't intend to knock on any doors. I admit I winced when I saw you'd publically written the name of Alan Lee and Brian Froud's village in your message. (I realize that the Frouds are sometimes not as careful as they should be about remembering to keep their location private, even though they are extremely private people.) Writers and artists truly need their privacy. It's not snobbishness; it's simply that they cannot work if there is a steady stream of knocks on the door. Alan Lee and Brian & Wendy Froud all love meeting fans and especially young artists who have been inspired by their work *when* they are out in public -- on a book tour, at an exhibition opening, at a convention. That's why they do it. But when they're home, they want and need to be left alone -- to do their work, to spend time with their families, and to be able to go to the grocery store without strangers staring at them. If we want more great art out of them, we need to leave them alone to live the quiet lives that inspire it. So please, if you must visit their precise village rather than the general area, do be considerate.
I do understand your impulse to want to see the land where art that has inspired you comes from. I've spend countless hours walking in the footsteps of people whose work has inspired me in some way -- William Morris, Vanessa Bell, Gwen John and others. But they are all long gone from this earth, and so there are no privacy issues to contend with. With living writers and artists, one needs to be respectful not only of their privacy, but of that of their families (who are sometimes very tired of dealing with their famous relative's fans).
Edited by: Terri Windling at: 8/2/04 9:40 am
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snowflakebebe
Registered User
(8/2/04 10:27 am)
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Re: roots of fairy tales
I am sorry for posting the town, I thought it was a publically known thing. Its one of these things where I think that if I know, then everyone else most know it. I can copy your response to me and you can delete the messages for security and I am again sorry. I love your site too and I will continue to explore those links and the ones I dig up.
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Terri
Windling
Registered User
(8/2/04 10:36 am)
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Re: roots of fairy tales
Since I live there too, I admit I have a vested interest in trying
to keep it from being too
publically known. Perhaps Heidi, our webmistress, would be so kind
as to edit out the name of the village in the earlier post, so that
it just refers to the Dartmoor area in general.
I checked out your web site, by the way. Nice work.
Edited by: Terri Windling at: 8/2/04 10:37 am
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snowflakebebe
Registered User
(8/2/04 10:49 am)
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Re: roots of fairy tales
Coming from you that means the world. Thank you.
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snowflakebebe
Registered User
(8/2/04 11:57 am)
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Re: roots of fairy tales
I didn't think it would be there but it still is. I had written
an amazon.com review of your book The
Winter Child (last one on the page)
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...s&n=507846
I always feel bad for people who just see these as kiddy bedtime stories. I know many like certain early German works were made to scare kids, but they really can inspire and give you hope. The imagination, and creative works, I just wouldn't know how to exist happily in a world without it.
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Heidi
Anne Heiner
ezOP
(8/2/04 9:37 pm)
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Re: roots of fairy tales
I edited the page, so no worries all around.
Sorry, I am so absent--I'm in the midst of renovations on our new house, so my visits are infrequent for several more weeks.
Heidi
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